Club soda, coffee grounds and vinegar may be among the most handy food items when it comes to cleaning up around the house in a pinch — but they’ve got nothing on peanut butter.
In terms of versatility, peanut butter is like the Bo Jackson of foods.
From unlikely recipes to surprising household and beauty uses, websites such as Pinterest and the myriad cooking blogs online have opened the gates on the treat’s many uses.
Those stuck at home with an empty jar may find several websites that offer an easy way to make peanut butter. Using two cups of any variety peanuts and a food processor will supposedly yield homemade P.B. that will keep for more than a month in the refrigerator.
Cooks looking to whip up a dinner that includes peanut butter may find a buffet of options online.
New York-based Peanut Butter & Co. offers several selections on its website, including spicy peanut butter chicken, which they promise will take only 15 minutes to prepare. The P.B. gives the chicken a crispy crust, according to their recipe.
Other non-dessert offerings for people who aren’t necessarily worried about counting calories include peanut butter corn dogs and the monstrous Elvis burger — named in honor of the late singer’s proclivity toward using P.B. on sandwiches. The recipe’s author Helen Graves advises it is “most suited to the hardcore peanut butter lover.”
Homemade peanut butter. (Photo: Mark DuFrene/McClatchey Images)
Another creative use for peanut butter in the web-sharing age is to plug the bottom of an ice cream cone, avoiding leakage during hot days. In fact, an inventor in San Francisco came up with a plan for turning a typical ice cream experience into a peanut butter and jelly snack, using the P.B. as an adhesive.
Outside the kitchen, peanut butter may be used to MacGyver yourself out of many situations.
RELATED STORY:Facts and myths about peanut butter
Common uses include removing gum from hair or carpet and helping pets swallow pills — provided they don’t have a peanut allergy. Did you know P.B. may be used to fix scratched CDs and DVDs? The environmentally conscious living website Treehugger.com claims if your movie is skipping, you can “gently smear on some peanut butter, wipe it off again, and then put the disk back in the machine.”
An article by “The Huffington Post” suggested using peanut butter to shine leather furniture. The substance can also be used to polish shoes, according to the instructional video series Howcast. For those looking to create a gory Halloween effect that’s also edible, BBC advised using peanut butter to create fake blood.
Perhaps the strangest accounted use for peanut butter? Shaving.
Several websites, including Lifehacker.com, suggest reaching for the P.B. if there is no shaving cream available. Of course, someone may have to use a good bit of after-shave to cover the scent.
Bow down, club soda.
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